WANDERING STAR: Review, Mood Board, and Giveaway!

The #ZodiacBooks Re-readathon continues! And today we’re talking about Wandering Star! This is probably my favorite book in the series, so I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the blog tour today! If there was ever a book series that is fun to make a mood board for, it’s this one! You can fall through an absolute wormhole of gorgeous galactic images to fit this book, and I highly recommend that you try it yourself while reading this beauty!

About the Book

Title: Wandering Star

Author: Romina Russell

Pub. Date: December 8, 2015

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 303

A breathtaking sci-fi space saga inspired by astrology that will stun fans of the Illuminae Files and Starbound series.

Orphaned, disgraced, and stripped of her title, Rho is ready to live life quietly, as an aid worker in the Cancrian refugee camp on House Capricorn.

But news has spread that the Marad–an unbalanced terrorist group determined to overturn harmony in the Galaxy–could strike any House at any moment.

Then, unwelcome nightmare that he is, Ochus appears to Rho, bearing a cryptic message that leaves her with no choice but to fight.

Now Rho must embark on a high-stakes journey through an all-new set of Houses, where she discovers that there’s much more to her Galaxy–and to herself–than she could have ever imagined.

My Review

There are a lot of things that I really enjoyed about this book, but there are two things in particular that I absolutely loved that I want to gush about a bit.

First, this is a second book in a series that is actually BETTER than the first! So often second books can feel like a stepping stone from one book to the next, but Wandering Star definitely stands on its own and is an absolute gem of a story.

And second, the villain in this story is UH-MAZ-ING! They are mysterious, completely unpredictable, and their influence has spread throughout the Galaxy, making it impossible to know which characters you can trust and which ones you cannot.

Rho is such a fascinating character. She has this tremendous inner-strength, but at the same time she is plagued by doubts and insecurities that make her read very authentically like an actual young adult.

The stakes in this story are literally life and death, and the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat. The setting is absolutely stunning. I could spend days on Pinterest creating mood boards for these books.

I also really love how the strengths of other Zodiac Houses are explored further here. I love that the premise of this series is based around astrology. It’s such a fun and creative idea, and I love exploring it through these books.

Wandering Star Mood Board

About the Author

Romina Russell is a Los Angeles based author who originally hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina. As a teen, Romina landed her first writing gig—College She Wrote, a weekly Sunday column for the Miami Herald that was later picked up for national syndication—and she hasn’t stopped writing since. When she’s not working on the ZODIAC series, Romina can be found producing movie trailers, taking photographs, or daydreaming about buying a new drum set. She is a Virgo to the core.

Giveaway!

Enter for a chance to win either one (1) grand prize set of Romina Russell’s Zodiac Series in paperback, including Zodiac, Wandering Star, and Black Moon (32.97) or to be one (1) of five (5) second place winners to receive a copy of Zodiac by Romina Russell (ARV: $10.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on July 17th, 2017 and 12:00 AM on August 8, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about August 16, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Follow the Blog Tour

Thanks so much to Penguin Teen for hosting this blog tour! Be sure to check out all the amazing blog posts for Zodiac and stay tuned for news on the Wander Star tour!

I mean, I knew a galaxy mood board was going to be epic, but Krysti, I feel like if this was a job, you’d be getting raises left and right. SO epic. This series seems to be so very interesting. Wonderful review and gorgeous mood board! 🙂